Mother's Day Weekend in the Bay

Thursday, May 9 - Dinner + Show “The Perfect Date Night”
Afternoon: 
Mom Flies In. She met me at work and we got lunch at Sam’s Chowder Mobile (Food Truck). We shared a delicious lobster roll and okay crab cakes, then headed over to get Kev.
Evening: 
+ Dinner at Cheesecake factory with two fantastic moms (mine and Kev's Grandma). This is my favorite Cheesecake factory because it is the top floor of Macy's and overlooks union square. Parking can be tricky so I recommend parking under union square for $4/hour. Also, get to the Factory early or you may find yourself waiting a long time to be seated. If that happens, I enjoy trying out the furniture one floor down.
+ Then we saw Hamilton. It was phenomenal! You must see it. I promise you will love it. It has something for everyone. We park in the lot under City Hall ($12/flat rate) because I love the walk from City Hall to the Orpheum Theater, especially at night when the lights on City Hall remind me why I love this city so much. But you will also pass by the Asian Art Museum, the public library, and more. The Orpheum theater has a magnificent ceiling.

Friday, May 10 - Picnic, Museum, Drive “Perfect Day Date”
Morning: 
Worked ½ Day
Afternoon: 
+ Picnic in the Park. We picked up Ike’s Sandwiches, perfect because they have halal options, and met Kev in Golden Gate Park for a fantastic Picnic lunch and napped on the grass.
+ Conservatory of Flowers. We did a tour of the conservatory of flowers, the front desk clerk was a delightful human and we had on the same nail polish color. The florals were superb. My favorite room was the Aquatic Plant Room. Great place for photos, $9 ticket, and we spent about 2 hours here. It would be easy to bring a book and get lost in its pages among the foliage.

+ Drove around Golden Gate Park - Sites included Museum Circle, Stow Lake, Bison Paddock, and the Windmill. We Drove past the different Flower Gardens, the rose garden, in particular, looked quite beautiful. The Geese and Ducks at Stow Lake had their babies with them. We watched them for 10 minutes while these curious baby birds played. The bison was the most active I have ever seen them. One of the bison walked from one end of the field to the very top of a hill with little to no effort and he moved so quickly. It’s sad to think that they use to roam this continent in herds and how close they came to be extinct. I love that San Francisco made a little place for them. I thought the windmill would be in bloom but it looked like they had just planted so we will need to wait a few more months.

+ Presidio Drive - Along Ocean Beach to the Cliff House, Sutro Baths, Legion of Honor, Palace of Fine arts, and the Marina District. This is one of my all-time favorite drives. I love seeing the surfers on Ocean Beach and the views of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Presidio is unreal. I love that we don’t have to pay to see a copy of Rodin’s Thinker situated in the front of the legion of honor. We picked up cupcakes from  Susie Cakes in the Marina. Then headed home.

Evening: 
We had a lowkey evening of eating cheesecake factory leftovers (literally the best leftovers in the world, if you order right). And we played Disney trivial pursuit as we watched Nick and Nora’s infinite playlist on Netflix.

Saturday, May 11 - Azeena’s 28th Birthday
Morning/ Afternoon: 
Sailing on the Bay. This was the most magical birthday I have ever had. I didn’t know it when I said that I wanted to go sailing but now I know that I was meant to be on the sea. I want to thank everyone that came out for it. My two friends were such troopers, overcoming their seasickness to go on this adventure with me. I owe a good deal of adventures to them and more to come, I am sure. Our Captain Bill was such a doll.  We met him in Emeryville and quickly left because low tide was coming in and we didn’t want to drag. We spent 4 hours going from the east bay to under the golden gate bridge. Watching the Captain move the ship and sails was like a dance. We loved it! We munched on bagels with cream cheese and lox and drank screwdrivers on this sea adventure. We saw all kinds of birds, seals, and porpoises (small dolphins).

Evening: 
+ We had dinner reservations at 5 at Bellotti's. This is my favorite Italian place. They book up a month or two in advance so you really have to plan it out. We had and so we got a window table (YAY). They handmake the pasta and the flavors are really something. Kevin and I shard a bottle of wine. We did family style and shared an appetizer of bruschetta, PESCE - Antartic seabass with toasted pistachios, soft potato puree, sauteed mixed vegetables, lemon zest, and FAGOTTINI RICOTTA E SPINACI - Ricotta and spinach filled pasta, Italian fresh ricotta, organic spinach, Grana Padano D.O.P. We finished off the meal with ANGELA'S TIRAMISU.

+ Walked along College and Shopped Around. We poked into a few bookstores and found some really neat books. After an hour or two, we headed home. I opened presents, we played games and caught up on our shows on Hulu. Kev made us some Creme Brulee as a 2nd dessert.

Sunday, May 12 - Mother’s Day
Morning: 
Breakfast in Bed - Kev whipped up some salmon benedicts for us while I picked up our Starbuck’s drink orders. We laid in bed, ate, and watched Leaving Time.

Afternoon: 
Mom Flies Home. The weekend really flew by. It was already time to say goodbye. Mom packed up and we drove her to the Oakland airport. We weren’t quite ready to say goodbye so we paid the $2 to park so we could walk her to security. She breezed through security and walked on to her plane. It was a really great weekend and she gets to spend the rest of her mother’s day with her son, her mom, and her sisters.

Evening: 
We cleaned up and got ready for the Busy Week to Come.